2023 SUBARU SOLTERRA warning

1724-2. Opening, closing and locking the doors
Owners Manual_USA_M42C01_en
Back door
The back door can be
locked/unlocked and
opened/closed by the fol-
lowing procedures.
WARNING
Observe the following precau-
tions.
Failure to do so may result in
death or serious injury.
■Before driving
●Make sure that the back door is
fully closed.
If the back door is not fully
closed, it may open unexpect-
edly while driving and hit near-
by objects or luggage in the lug-
gage compartment may be
thrown out, causing an acci-
dent.
●Do not allow child ren to play in
the luggage compartment.
If a child is accidentally locked
in the luggage compartment,
they could get heat exhaustion
or other injuries.
●Do not allow a child to open or
close the back door.
Doing so may cause the back
door to operate unexpectedly,
or cause the child’s hands,
head, or neck to be caught by
the closing back door.
■Important points while driving
●Keep the back door closed
while driving.
If the back door is left open, it
may hit near-by objects or lug-
gage in the luggage compart-
ment may be thrown out,
causing an accident.
●Never let anyone sit in the lug-
gage compartment.
In the event of sudden braking,
sudden swerving or a collision,
they are susceptible to death or
serious injury.
■Back door handles
Do not hang any object to the
back door handles.
If any object is hung, the back
door may suddenly shut, causing
parts of the body to be caught,
resulting in death o r serious injury.
■Operating the back door
Observe the following precau-
tions.
Failure to do so may cause parts
of the body to be caught, resulting
in death or serious injury.
●Remove any heavy loads, such
as snow and ice, from the back
door before opening it. Failure
to do so may cause the back
door to suddenly shut again
after it is opened.
●When opening or closing the
back door, thoroughly check to
make sure the surrounding area
is safe.
●If anyone is in the vicinity, make
sure they are safe and let them
know that the back door is
about to open or close.
●Use caution when opening or
closing the back door in windy
weather as it may move
abruptly in strong wind.

1734-2. Opening, closing and locking the doors
Owners Manual_USA_M42C01_en
4
Before driving
■Using the entry function (if
equipped)
Carry the electronic key to
enable this function.
WARNING
●Vehicles without power back
door: The back door may sud-
denly shut if it is not opened
fully. It is more difficult to open
or close the ba ck door on an
incline than on a level surface,
so beware of the back door
unexpectedly opening or closing
by itself. Make sure that the
back door is fully open and
secure before using the luggage
compartment.
●Vehicles with power back door:
The back door may suddenly
shut if it is not opened fully,
while on a steep incline. Make
sure that the back door is
secured before using the lug-
gage compartment.
●When closing the back door,
take extra care to prevent your
fingers, etc., from being caught.
●Vehicles without power back
door: When closing the back
door, make sure to press it
lightly on its outer surface. If the
back door handle is used to fully
close the back door, it may
result in hands or arms being
caught.
●Vehicles without power back
door: Do not pull on the back
door damper stay ( P.175) to
close the back d oor, and do not
hang on the back door damper
stay.
Doing so may cause hands to
be caught or the back door
damper stay to break, causing
an accident.
●Vehicles with power back door:
Do not pull on the back door
spindle ( P.184) to close the
back door, and do not hang on
the back door spindle.
Doing so may cause hands to
be caught or the back door spin-
dle to break, causing an acci-
dent.
●Vehicles without power back
door: If a bicycle carrier or simi-
lar heavy object is attached to
the back door, it may suddenly
shut again after being opened,
causing someone’s hands,
head or neck to be caught and
injured. When installing an
accessory part to the back door,
using a genuine Toyota part is
recommended.
Unlocking and locking the
back door from the out-
side

1754-2. Opening, closing and locking the doors
Owners Manual_USA_M42C01_en
4
Before driving
2 Loose the screw and move the
cover.
3 Move the lever.
4 When installing, reverse the
steps listed.
■Open door warning buzzer
 P. 1 7 0
■Using the wireless remote
control
Press and hold the switch.
The power back door automatically
opens/closes.
Pressing the switch while the power
back door is opening/closing stops
NOTICE
■Back door damper stays
The back door is equipped with
damper stays that hold the back
door in place.
Observe the following precau-
tions.
Failure to do so may cause dam-
age to the back door damper stay,
resulting in malfunction.
●Do not attach any foreign
objects, such as stickers, plastic
sheets, or adhesives to the
damper stay rod.
●Do not touch the damper stay
rod with gloves or other fabric
items.
●Do not attach any accessories
other than genuine Toyota parts
to the back door.
●Do not place your hand on the
damper stay or apply lateral
forces to it.
Opening/closing the back
door (vehicles with power
back door)

1824-2. Opening, closing and locking the doors
Owners Manual_USA_M42C01_en2
Loose the screw and move the
cover.
3 Move the lever.
4 When installing, reverse the
steps listed.
■Customization
Some functions can be customized.
(Customizable features: P.570)
WARNING
■Back door closer
●In the event that the back door
is left slightly open, the back
door closer will automatically
close it to the fu lly closed posi-
tion. It takes several seconds
before the back door closer
begins to operate. Be careful
not to catch fingers or anything
else in the back door, as this
may cause bone fractures or
other serious injuries.
●Use caution when using the
back door closer as it still oper-
ates when the power back door
system is canceled.
■Power back door
Observe the following precautions
when operating the power back
door.
Failure to do so may cause death
or serious injury.
●Check the safety of the sur-
rounding area to make sure
there are no obs tacles or any-
thing that could cause any of
your belongings to get caught.
●If anyone is in the vicinity, make
sure they are safe and let them
know that the back door is
about to open or close.

1834-2. Opening, closing and locking the doors
Owners Manual_USA_M42C01_en
4
Before driving
WARNING
●If the power back door system is
turned off while the back door is
operating automatically, the
automatic operation is stopped.
The back door then has to be
operated manually. Take extra
care when on an incline, as the
back door may open or close
unexpectedly.
●If the operating conditions of the
power back door are no longer
met, a buzzer may sound and
the back door may stop opening
or closing. The back door then
has to be operated manually.
Take extra care when on an
incline, as the back door may
open or close abruptly.
●On an incline, t he back door
may suddenly shut after it
opens. Make sure the back door
is fully open and secure.
●In the following situations, the
power back door may detect an
abnormality and automatic
operation may be stopped. In
this case, the back door has to
be operated manually. Take
extra care when on an incline,
as the back door may open or
close abruptly.
• When the back door contacts an obstacle
• When the 12-volt battery volt- age suddenly drops, such as
when the power switch is turned
to ON or the EV system is
started during automatic opera-
tion
●If a bicycle carrier or similar
heavy object is attached to the
back door, the power back door
may not operate, causing itself
to malfunction, or the back door
may suddenly shut again after
being opened, causing some-
one’s hands, arms, head or
neck to be caught and injured.
When installing an accessory
part to the back door, using a
genuine Toyota part is recom-
mended.
■Jam protection function
Observe the following precau-
tions.
Failure to do so may cause death
or serious injury.
●Never use any part of your body
to intentionally activate the jam
protection function.
●The jam protection function may
not work if something gets
caught just before the back door
fully closes. Be careful not to
catch fingers or anything else.
●The jam protection function may
not work depending on the
shape of the object that is
caught. Be careful not to catch
fingers or anything else.
■Hands Free Power Back Door
(if equipped)
Observe the following precautions
when operating the Hands Free
Power Back Door.
Failure to do so may cause death
or serious injury.
●Check the safety of the sur-
rounding area to make sure
there are no obs tacles or any-
thing that could cause any of
your belongings to get caught.

1844-2. Opening, closing and locking the doors
Owners Manual_USA_M42C01_en
WARNING
●When putting your foot near the
lower center part of the rear
bumper and moving it from the
rear bumper, be careful not to
touch the exhaust pipes until
they have cooled down suffi-
ciently, as touching hot exhaust
pipes can cause burns.
●Do not leave the electronic key
within the eff ective range
(detection area) of the luggage
compartment.
NOTICE
■Back door spindles
The back door is equipped with
spindles that hold the back door in
place.
Observe the following precau-
tions.
Failure to do so may cause dam-
age to the back door spindle,
resulting in malfunction.
●Do not attach any foreign
objects, such as stickers, plastic
sheets, or adhesives to the
spindle rod.
●Do not touch the spindle rod
with gloves or other fabric items.
●Do not attach any accessories
other than genuine Toyota parts
to the back door.
●Do not place your hand on the
spindle or apply lateral forces to
it.
■To prevent back door closer
malfunction
Do not apply excessive force to
the back door while the back door
closer is operating. Applying
excessive force may cause the
back door closer t o malfunction.
■To prevent damage to the
power back door
●Make sure that there is no ice
between the back door and
frame that would prevent move-
ment of the back door. Operat-
ing the power back door when
excessive load is present on the
back door may cause a mal-
function.
●Do not apply excessive force to
the back door while the power
back door is operating.
●Take care not to damage the
sensors (installed on the right
and left edges of the power
back door) with a knife or other
sharp object. If the sensor is
disconnected, the power back
door will not close automatically.
■Close & lock function
When closing the power back
door using the close & lock func-
tion, a different b uzzer than the
normal one will so und before the
operation begins.
To check that the operation has
started correctly, check that a dif-
ferent buzzer than the normal one
has sounded.
Additionally, when the power back
door is fully closed and locked,
operation signals will indicate that
all of the doors have been locked.
Before leaving the vehicle, make
sure that the operation signals
have operated and that all of the
doors are locked.

1874-2. Opening, closing and locking the doors
Owners Manual_USA_M42C01_en
4
Before driving
■Antenna location Antennas outside the cabin
(driver’s side/front passenger’s
side [if equipped])
Antennas outside the cabin
(rear) (if equipped)
Antennas inside the cabin
Antenna inside the luggage com- partment
Antenna outside the luggage
compartment
■Effective range
(areas within
which the electronic key is
detected)
When locking or unlocking the
doors
The system can be operated when
the electronic key is within about 2.3
ft. (0.7 m) of the driver’s door han-
dle, front passenger’s door handle
(if equipped), rear door handles (if
equipped) and back door opener
switch (if equipped). (Only the doors
detecting the key can be operated.)
When starting the EV system or
changing power switch modes
The system can be operated when
the electronic key i s inside the vehi-
cle.
■If an alarm sounds or a warning
message is displayed
An alarm sounds and warning mes-
sage displays shown on the multi-
information display are used to pro-
tect against unexpected accidents
or theft of the vehicl e resulting from
erroneous operation. When a warn-
ing message is displayed, take
appropriate measures based on the
displayed message.
When only an alarm sounds, cir-
cumstances and correction proce-
dures are as follows.
Smar t key system
The following operations
can be performed simply by
carrying the electronic key
on your person, for example
in your pocket. The driver
should always carry the
electronic key.
 Locks and unlocks the
doors
* ( P.167)
 Locks and unlocks the back
door
* ( P.173)
 Starts the EV system
( P.231)

1904-2. Opening, closing and locking the doors
Owners Manual_USA_M42C01_enlock and unlock repeatedly. In that
case, follow the fo
llowing correc-
tion procedures to wash the vehi-
cle:
• Place the electronic key in a loca- tion 6 ft. (2 m) or more away from
the vehicle. (Take care to ensure
that the key is not stolen.)
• Set the electronic key to battery-
saving mode to disable the smart
key system. ( P.188)
●If the electronic key is inside the
vehicle and a door handle
becomes wet during a car wash, a
message may be shown on the
multi-informatio n display and a
buzzer will sound outside the vehi-
cle. To turn off the alarm, lock all
the doors.
●The lock sensor may not work
properly if it com es into contact
with ice, snow, mud, etc. Clean
the lock sensor and attempt to
operate it again.
●A sudden approach to the effec-
tive range or door handle may pre-
vent the doors from being
unlocked. In this case, return the
door handle to the original position
and check that the doors unlock
before pulling the door handle
again.
●If there is another electronic key in
the detection area, it may take
slightly longer to unlock the doors
after the door handle is gripped.
■When the vehicle is not driven
for extended periods
●To prevent theft of the vehicle, do
not leave the electronic key within
6 ft. (2 m) of the vehicle.
●The smart key system can be
deactivated in advance. ( P.569)
●Battery-saving mode can reduce
the power consumption of elec-
tronic keys. ( P.188)
■To operate the system properly
Make sure to carry the electronic
key when operating the system. Do
not get the electronic key too close to the vehicle when operating the
system from the out
side of the vehi-
cle.
Depending on the position and hold-
ing condition of the electronic key,
the key may not be detected cor-
rectly and the system may not oper-
ate properly. (The alarm may go off
accidentally, or the door lock pre-
vention may not operate.)
■If the smart key system does
not operate properly
●If the doors cannot be locked or
unlocked, perform the following.
• Bring the electronic key close to the door handle and perform a
lock or unlock operation.
• Use the wireless remote control.
If the doors cannot be locked or
unlocked by perform the above, use
the mechanical key. ( P.539)
However, if the mechanical key is
used while the alarm system is set,
the warning will sound. ( P. 6 9 )
●If the EV system cannot be
started, refer to P.540
■Customization
Settings (e.g. smart key system)
can be changed.
(Customizable features: P.569)
If the smart key system has been
deactivated in a customized setting,
refer to the explanations for the fol-
lowing operations.
●Locking and unlocking the doors:
Use the wireless remote control or
mechanical key. ( P.167, 539)
●Starting the EV system and
changing power switch modes:
P. 5 4 0
●Stopping the EV system: P. 2 3 3